Dame Tessa Jowell dies aged 70

Media playback is unsupported on your deviceTessa Jowell opens up about living with brain cancer Former Labour cabinet minister Dame Tessa Jowell has died aged 70, her family has said.Dame Tessa, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in May last year, suffered a haemorrhage on Friday, and had been in a coma until her death on Saturday.She played a major role in securing the 2012 Olympics for London when she served as culture secretary.In recent months she campaigned for more cancer treatments to be made available through the NHS.She earned a minute-long standing ovation in the House of Lords in January for speaking about the issue.Former prime minister Tony Blair said Dame Tessa had "passion, determination and simple human decency in greater measure than any person I have ever known".A statement from her family said it was "with great sadness, and an enormous sense of loss" that they announce the news of her death.She died peacefully at the family home near Shipston-on-Stour in Warwickshire shortly after 22:00 BST on Saturday, the statement said."Her husband David and their children Jessie and Matthew were by her side, with Jessie's husband Finn, Matthew's wife Ella, and David's children from his first marriage."In addition to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, in recent months doctors tried innovative new treatments which Tessa gladly embraced, but sadly the tumour recently progressed very quickly."

Media playback is unsupported on your deviceEx-MP Tessa Jowell gets a minute-long standing ovation in the House of LordsThe statement thanked people for the "overwhelming support" Dame Tessa and her family had received since she became ill.A small private funeral will be held "in the coming days" and a memorial service "open to all" at a later date.Mr Blair said Dame Tessa was "an inspiration to work with, and a joy to be near"."She was the most wise of counsellors, the most loyal and supportive of colleagues, and the best of friends," he said.

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